


After the Jumps

by Snorlax_on_USS_Discovery



Category: Star Trek: Discovery
Genre: Alternate Ending, Caring Hugh Culber, Episode: s01e09 Into the Forest I Go, Fluff, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Paul Stamets is adorable, Spore side effects
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-08
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-13 08:47:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29275680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Snorlax_on_USS_Discovery/pseuds/Snorlax_on_USS_Discovery
Summary: All the jumps in order to break the Klingon cloak had to have an effect on Paul. That effect might cause Paul to rethink his position on Discovery and on his life. Set during S1 Ep 9: Into the Forrest I Go. An AU tale.
Relationships: Hugh Culber/Paul Stamets
Comments: 10
Kudos: 25





	After the Jumps

One hundred thirty-three consecutive jumps was not something Paul Stamets ever wanted to do again. It also made him loathe Lorca more than the scientist already did...if that was at possible. “ This was it.” Paulthought knowing he had enough of it all. There was going to be no more using the spore drive and he was going to let Hugh know as soon he exited the cube.

  
Paul was about to address his dear doctor when everything around him began to spin and went dark and he collapsed to the floor. 

Hugh rushed over to Paul in a second, dropping to the floor and pulling the unconscious man onto his lap; head resting on his thighs. One hand stroked Paul’s sweaty hair and the other began to scan for any signs of trauma or reason for the sudden loss of consciousness. 

_  
You do whatever you have to do. You keep him alive till he finishes the jumps. Trillions of lives are at stake here. That’s an order, Doctor._

Lorca’s words still reverberated in Hugh’s head.It was difficult to make that call when you are ordered to put the one life that matters most to you at serious risk.

  
The captain was a master of manipulation and it angered him that Paul was pulled into Lorca’s games so many times. Hugh had seen the abject look of terror in his parter’s eye when he had walked into engineering before the jumps. It was not something easily noticed unless you really knew Paul. Hugh knew he took his all anger out on Paul when only twenty percent of his anger really belonged there for not mentioning the side effects. 

It was moments like that made it very difficult to keep the balance between professional doctor and worried significant other. There was also an overwhelming urge to hurt Lorca for forcing Paul to make all the jumps. So much for a physician promising to do no harm. 

“Is he alright? What happened to the lieutenant?” Tilly fired rapid questions, shifting nervously between her feet and trying not to panic. 

“I don’t know yet,” Hugh answered with snippy tone in his voice. “Can you give us some room?” The cadet was too close for comfort and her hovering increased the doctor’s anxiety. He knew she was she was worried too but he could not answer her questions when he did not have answers himself. 

“Paul, can you hear me?” Hugh’s brow furrowed as the scans revealed nothing. All of Paul’s life signs were normal. It was a relief that everything seemed normal and a worry that it was something more serious than a basic scanner could register. “Can you open those beautiful eyes of yours for me?” Hugh pleaded, letting his professionalism slip slightly. 

“Please let me know you are okay.” A hint of desperation entered Hugh’s voice. Ever since Paul injected himself with the Tardigrade DNA, Hugh went into doctoring overdrive as Paul called it when he fussed over him too much. 

“Nuh..eep...en..re...tes...” Paul mumbled as he teetered along the border of consciousness and unconsciousness. He had no sense of what was going on around him or that a small group of worried crew surrounded them. The only thing Paul’s foggy brain could comprehend was that his head was Hugh’s lap and that his dear doctor’s skillful hand was stoking his hair. Paul’s mind made the logical assumption that he was still home in bed and his body instinctively rolled toward his lover unknowingly putting them in a compromising position. 

“Um...what did he say?” Tilly asked as her face went as red as her hair. She was not sure what just happened, but saw Culber turned a bit red in the face too.

Hugh did not know if he should laugh or roll his eyes. It was obvious what was wrong with Paul now. He now assumed all the jumps drained his partner’s body of energy and he fell asleep. It was an explanation that didn’t even cross his mind as Hugh had immediately feared the worst. Also it did not help that Paul did not get much sleep the night before, but the blame for that solely fell upon Hugh. 

“He wants to sleep for ten more minutes,” Hugh replied with a relieved laugh as he shifted the mostly asleep Paul so he was cradled in his arms instead of face planted in his crotch. It was a good thing he was fluent in Sleepy Stamets Speak. 

“Oh, thank god,” Tilly released the breath she had been holding. “Do you want me to call Dr. Pollard?” 

“No! We’ll be fine. I just need to wake him up,” Hugh answered knowing the difficult task ahead of him. Paul was nearly impossible to wake up most times and only a few things could rouse him from a deep slumber and none were safe to do with anyone around.

Tilly nodded and slowly backed away. “Just be careful okay. He can be really mean if you wake the lieutenant up. There was this one time...but you probably know that... you live with him. Yeah, I’m just going to go over there,” the babbling cadet pointed to spot several feet away and quickly moved to her pointed position. 

Hugh stared at Tilly for a second, realizing this was what Paul meant by her talking too much. “You really have to get up. Let’s get up,” he lightly shook the sleeping angel in his arms.

“Nuh. Oo fo’ble”

“But I’m not comfortable.”

“L-r.”

“I’m not lying. I’m sitting on the floor. A hard metal floor.”

“N’e low.”

_I’ll give you nice pillow._

Hugh didn’t know if he should laugh or scream over the conversation with his barely awake partner. It was one thing to have it in the privacy of their quarters but it bordered on the ridiculous to have it in the middle of engineering with people around. 

“My ha’ome rince.”

“Flattery will not get you anywhere this time, Paul. You can sleep all you want, but let’s get you home first.” Hugh pleaded with the stubborn Paul before placing a tender kiss on his forehead. 

“...rry me?”

Hugh froze at the question. It was a question Paul had asked a handful of times when he talked in his sleep, but it was never taken seriously as Paul never remembered what he said and Hugh never dared to bring it up.

“Wuv’ you,” Paul murmured with with a soppy grin. He managed to open his eyes half way but it was a major struggle to keep them open. 

_I love you too, crazy man._

“There we go. That’s what I wanted to see,” Hugh matched his partner’s grin, relieved to see the blue eyes looking back at him. Open eyes was a step in the right direction and the next was to get Paul moving. “Can you get up?”

Paul shook his head. His body felt like it weighed a ton and he could not move because of it. Under other circumstances Paul would be terrified but everything felt like it would be okay as long as he was in Hugh’s comforting arms and he did not see any fear in his other half’s eyes. 

“S’ sepee. Can’t move. Neef sweep. Seep here?” Paul’s eyes lost the battle to stay open and they slid closed once again.

“No, you can’t sleep in engineering as much as I know you’d love to but the floor is hurting my ass.” 

“It ‘ce ass.” 

Hugh knew he walked right into that one. 

“Please stop talking,” Hugh pleaded pressing a finger to Paul’s lips hoping he could silence the nonsensical speech. “Tilly can you help me get him up?” Hugh’s asked as he tried to stand, lifting Paul as he stood, but is was difficult with the dead weight of the once again sleeping scientist whose soft snores gently blew through his lips. 

There were other people who could have helped, but Hugh knew Paul would feel most comfortable with Tilly helping out.

“Sure, Dr. Culber,” Tilly did the best she could to assist, but Paul was difficult to move without him offering any assistance. 

It took a minute to get Paul situated so they could drag/walk him to their quarters. The two were well on their way when Tilly broke the silence.

“The reason he didn’t tell you about the side effects from the jumps was because he did not want to hurt you.” Tilly wasn’t too sure if she was overstepping by breaking Paul’s confidence, but it needed to be done after everything that happened. 

Hugh tilted his head, not sure what that meant. He did not understand why keeping Paul’s secret would hurt him. Worry him, most definitely but hurting made no sense.

“Lieutenant Stamets said if he told you it would put you in an impossible position. That you would be obligated to report the side effects and if you did not report it, that it would end your career. Those are his words.” Tilly explained.

It was a lot for Hugh to take in and he was not sure what to make of it. He had been livid when Tilly had let it slip about the side effects, but the news now made Hugh feel guilty for being mad at Paul in the first place. 

”Thank you for letting me know, Tilly.” Hugh understood where his stubborn lover was coming from but still wished he would have said something. Though Hugh would not put it past their Captain to have forced Paul to lie about any side effects. 

“I got him from here.” Hugh said once they reached the door to their quarters and leaned all of Paul’s weight on himself. “Thank you again for your help.”

“You’re welcome, Dr Culber. If you need anything, I’ll be here.” The cadet offered.

“I’ll let you know if we need anything. Thanks again, Tilly.” Hugh nodded before bringing Paul into their quarters. It took several minutes but Hugh put Paul into bed, changed him into pajamas and lastly tucked him into bed.

“I’ll be right back, sexy,” Hugh leaned over and placed a quick kiss on Paul’s lips before retreating into the bathroom to wash up and change out of his uniform into something more suited for lounging at home.

“I told you I’d be back.” Hugh took comfort in talking to Paul even if he couldn’t respond. “Do you plan on getting up anytime soon?” He ruffled his sleeping beauty’s hair before crawling in bed and got himself situated. He sat with his back against the headboard with a PADD in one hand and stroking Paul’s hair with the other. 

Hugh had a feeling this was going to be a long day, but he wouldn’t have it any other way. He knew if Paul was awake he would roll his eyes and tease him about fussing over him.

Still in a deep sleep Paul sighed happily and rolled onto his side, snuggling in close to Hugh. His head found its way onto Hugh’s thigh and an arm wrapped around the same thigh.

“You’re lucky you’re cute,” Hugh smiled and brushed a few locks of hairs off Paul’s forehead. He kept half his attention on the reports that needed to be caught up on and the other half on Paul.

After about two hours Hugh could feel his thigh start to get stiff and bit of drool began to seep through the fabric of his pants. “Just going to move your head for bit.” He shifted Paul’s head so it was resting against his hip.

Paul sighed with an annoyed whine as his head was moved from its very comfortable position. 

“Oh hush you!” Hugh gently poked at Paul’s nose which made the sleeping man sigh and pout. 

In the third and fifth hour Tilly called to see if anything changed, but there was no change except for sleeping positions. Hugh did not share that bit of information especially when Paul’s fingers found their way under the waistband of his pants. He was not about to traumatize the cadet by telling her about Paul’s sleeping habits; that he moves around in his sleep unless he is cuddling him or is the one being cuddled. 

At hour six Hugh fielded a call from Tracy, checking in to make sure everything was okay. He assured his fellow physician that all was well and let her hear that Paul was still snoring and that he was checking Paul’s vitals every fifteen minutes. 

During hour ten Hugh had a tense conversation with Lorca about getting Paul back in the cube and Hugh might have come extremely close to completely losing his temper with the captain, but stopped himself just in time. The call ended with Hugh telling Lorca that Paul would be under constant medical supervision and would be off duty until they reached Starbase 46 and he was certain the CMO would back up his plan. 

During the twelfth hour Hugh made a quick trip to the mess hall to get food for himself and in case Paul woke up and was hungry. By the time Hugh returned Paul had stretched out taking up the whole bed and he was hugging Hugh’s pillow for dear life.

“I’m going to need my pillow back soon, but you can keep it for now. And get back on your side of the bed, sleepy head.” Hugh laughed as sat at the table to eat his meal and plotted a way to reclaim his pillow.

After finishing his meal, Hugh washed up again and now changed into pajamas. 

“Time to give the pillow back. If you give it back I can give you the real thing to hold.” Hugh did not expect a response and was not surprised when he did not receive one. He crawled into bed and gently pushed his partner over so they could at least share Paul’s pillow.

“It’s time for you to wake up, Paul. If you wake up I’ll give you a big kiss.” Hugh promised as he cuddled in next to Paul, resting his head in the crook of his lover’s neck and a protective arm draped across his body. 

Hugh could watch over this amazing man for as long he could. He knew Paul teased many times about how lucky he was that Hugh put up with him for all these years, but Hugh considered himself the lucky one that he got to witness and be a recipient of the tenderness and warmth under the grumpy public persona. Though since injecting himself with the Tardigrade DNA that side of Paul was being shown more in public. 

Two and half hours later and several position changes and his pillow reclaimed Hugh found it impossible to keep his eyes open anymore and he drifted off to sleep with his and Paul’s limbs intertwined so it was difficult to see where one ended and the other began. 

Almost a hour passed when Paul woke up with a start and sat bolt upright unaware of his surroundings, his brain still in a sleepy haze. It took a few seconds for him to realize that he was home in bed, but he still felt very disoriented. 

The room was completely dark and Paul reached out his left hand behind him and soon came in contact with a face. “Sorry,” he winced knowing Hugh was not going to be pleased to be woken up by a hand being shoved into his face. 

Hugh was jolted awake by Paul’s hand poking into his face. For a second he was annoyed by the unusual sleep induced gymnastics, but that changed the moment he heard Paul apologize and Hugh realized he was sitting up.

“About time,” Hugh said to himself as he sat up and placed a hand on Paul’s back. “You’re finally awake.” The sense of relief in Hugh’s voice was clear. Then he asked the computer to raise the lights to fifteen percent. 

“Finally?” Paul asked as he tried to make sense of the confusion clouding his brain. He turned his body so he could face Hugh to gage how serious what ever just happened was. All he saw was relief written on the other man’s face.   
  


“What’s the last thing you remember?” Hugh asked, placing a hand on Paul’s knee and gave it a reassuring squeeze. 

“Being in the cube, I was about to start the jump protocol. I told you I loved you and then nothing after that. Did we get the cloaking data?” Paul started to panic thinking that he had failed in the mission.

“Yes. You got the data.” Hugh smiled soothingly. “After you completed the jumps you passed out and have been mostly asleep for almost sixteen hours.”

“That long? You’ve been here the entire time?” Paul asked with raised eyebrows. It was had to believe that he had been asleep for that long. However, a hint of a smile formed, knowing that the incredible man before him would spend the better part of the day just watching over him.

“Where else would I be?” Hugh said matter of factly as if he would do anything else for the man he loved. 

“Thought you’d be mad at me for not telling you about the side effects from the jumps.” Paul remembered the look on Hugh’s face when Tilly let it accidentally slip about the side effects and the not so gentle manner that Hugh put the cuff on his hand. 

“Tilly explained why you didn’t say anything. I can understand why, but I don’t agree with it. You still should have told me.” Hugh understood Paul’s generous heart was in the right place, but that did not mean he was happy with the way he went about it. 

“I didn’t want to hurt you.” Paul said with sincere and complete honesty. 

“Losing you would hurt much worse than anything Starfleet could do to me.” Hugh’s eyes shone with the slightest hint of tears. He leaned forward for a kiss, wanting to reassure Paul he was no longer angry with him.

After they parted from the tender kiss both men smiled and rested their foreheads against each other. They took a minute the bask in the moment, pulling strength from the other. Both of their eyes clearly showed the love between them, more than their words could ever express. 

A moment later Paul pulled away, his expression dark and serious with a heavy dose of fear mixed in. “I’m scared of what the jumps are doing to me. I don’t want to lose myself.” Paul’s voice shook slightly.

“I won’t let that happen. When we get to Starbase 46 we can request leave to find someone who can help us figure out what is going on with you. I can get the CMO to insist to Lorca that is absolutely medically necessary that we get you to the best neurologist Starfleet has to offer.” Hugh pulled Paul into his arms and held on for dear life. He had never seen Paul this scared before and it frightened him as well.

“What if the changes are permanent?” Paul buried his face into Hugh’s shoulder, trying to hold it together. 

Hugh could feel the slight tremble of Paul’s body. He was not sure how he could reassure Paul as well as himself that everything was going to be okay. He offered the only thing he could offer; himself. “We will deal with that if and only if it comes to that. I’m not going anywhere. I’m never going to leave your side. If I have to give up everything to help you fix this, I will. Without hesitation.” He lifted Paul’s head from his shoulder and cupped his partner’s face in his hands to show him how serious he was.

Paul sighed heavily and adverted his eyes from Hugh’s. He felt a sense of shame and embarrassment that Hugh would give up everything for him. “I can’t ask you to do that.”

Hugh frowned and bit his lower lip as he thought what to say to convince Paul that taking care of him would never be a burden. He thought back to Paul’s sleepy ramblings when they were in engineering and wondered if he should bring it up, knowing Paul would not remember and it was not something they had talked about directly before. 

Hugh took a deep breath before speaking, hoping this was the right thing to do. “You know that whole for better, for worse, in sickness and in health, and till death do us part applies to us, right?”

Paul half smirked, knowing what Hugh was trying to do and if Paul was honest with himself; it was starting to work. “We aren’t married.” He bit the inside of his cheek, unsure of exactly where his other half was going this this. Perhaps there was the tiniest, most minuscule hint of wishful thinking.

Hugh could see the wheels turning in Paul’s head. “If that’s what it is going to take you to believe me that I’d do anything to help you get better, then maybe we should get married.” At this point in their relationship it almost like they were married, but sometimes the unofficial needed to become official in order to reaffirm their already strong commitment. 

Paul’s face turned redder than a tomato. Honestly, he was torn about the idea. A bit scared. A bit unsure and a fair amount of elation. Pragmatically, if something was seriously wrong with him being married would allow Hugh to make any medical decisions regarding his health if Paul wasn’t capable of making them for himself. It was one thing when Hugh was his treating physician and they were on Discovery, but off the ship legally speaking Hugh wasn’t considered family, the medical decisions would fall upon his brother or mother. There was no one else Paul trusted to make the hard and right decisions concerning him than the love of his life. 

“Are you asking me to marry you?” Paul’s smile grew quite wide.

“You’ve put up with me this long so what’s another sixty or so years?” Hugh started to get really excited about the possibility of marriage becoming a reality. Marriage had never been a priority before and suddenly since asking, Hugh never wanted anything more.

Paul pretended to think on the question for a moment and instead of giving a verbal answer he moved so he was sitting on Hugh’s lap. He then wound his arms around Hugh’s neck and went in for a kiss to end all kisses.

Hugh moaned into the kiss, taking the response as a yes. His hands found their way under Paul’s shirt, slowly mapping the skin he knew so well but yet the heat and sparks Hugh felt caused him to shudder slightly. 

The blissful moment was ruined when the communicator on Hugh’s bedside table chirped.

“Tracy to Hugh.” The voice came over the comm.

Both men sighed heavily as they reluctantly pulled away from the kiss, both of their lips swollen and slightly out of breath.

Hugh reached for his comm, knowing if he did not respond she would not give up. He assumed she was probably checking in on him and Paul. “Hi, Tracy. Is everything okay?”

“I should be asking you that. I hadn’t heard from you in ten hours and I wanted to check in. Is everything okay with Paul? Did he wake up yet?” Tracy asked.

“Hi, Tracy. Yes, I’m awake now and I’m okay.” Paul responded before Hugh had a chance to. He pouted and rested his head on Hugh’s shoulder, hoping this call would end soon.

Tracy was oblivious to what she was interrupting, but how could she know if she couldn’t see them. “I’m glad to hear that. If you are having any other lingering effects make sure to come in. And Hugh make sure you get some rest, knowing you I’m sure you didn’t get any sleep.”

Hugh sighed and laughed as his friend knew him too well. “Okay I will. Thank you for checking on us. I will talk to you later.” He tossed his comm back onto the table and started to become aware of just how tired he really was. 

Paul carefully studied Hugh’s face, seeing the exhaustion on his face. He frowned for not having noticed it before.

Hugh could no longer contain the yawn he had been holding in. “Sorry,” he yawned again and rubbed his eyes trying to keep them open.

“You’re exhausted, Hugh. How much sleep did you get?” Paul asked with concern as he reached down and covered Hugh’s hand with his own. He knew Tracy was right and doubted Hugh got much if any sleep while he was asleep. By his calculations that meant Hugh had been awake for nearly twenty four hours. 

“Less than a hour.” Hugh admitted sheepishly as he turned his hand to lace their fingers together. 

Paul gave Hugh the look Hugh reserved for him when he chose work over sleep.

“Are you using my own glare against me?” Hugh asked in mock outrage. 

“Of course I am,” Paul smirked as he slid off Hugh’s lap and scooted back toward the headboard. “It’s my turn to take care you. So you sleep NOW,” the scientist said in a commanding and bossy tone.

Hugh wanted to put up an argument as it was a major turn on when Paul took charge in this way, but he was too tired to take it past some minor teasing. “Whatever the sexiest man alive wants he gets.” He curled up against Paul, wrapping his arm around Paul’s thigh and fell asleep with a huge grin on his face knowing the furious blush spreading throughout his fiancé’s entire body

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you all enjoyed. This one made me a little nervous because it’s my first longer DISCO fic and the first to really venture into full AU territory. 
> 
> Kudos and comments are always welcome and appreciated. 
> 
> I hope this makes up for the angst fest my last story was. 
> 
> Suggestions are welcome as well. I plan on leaving this new world open in case I might want to revisit the new world these two have created.


End file.
